The 21-year-old, who has represented France at every youth level, made only a handful of appearances for Lyon and spent the second half of last season on loan at Auxerre.

His search for first-team football has taken him to Nice, who have paid an initial 500,000 euros. According to Lyon, the deal comes with up to 250,000 euros in incentives and a percentage of future profit on re-sale potentially to be added.

Nice coach Claude Puel, familiar with Plea from his own time at Lyon said: "This is a player who can play on the wing but also behind the strikers. He has excellent technical qualities. He can become a complete player with work. It is something interesting for us."